Do German adjectives change for gender?
This alignment, which is a type of inflection (like verbs undergo), is called declension. While an adjective in English stays the same no matter the plurality or role of the noun, German adjectives need to be adjusted with different endings to indicate the gender, plurality, and case of the noun.
How do adjectives work in German?
As in English, German adjectives come BEFORE the noun they describe, but AFTER the verb in the sentence, unless the noun is the subject of the sentence. The only time the adjective does not agree with the word it describes is when it comes AFTER the verb. eine schwarze Katze a black catDas Buch ist neu.
How do you make an adjective feminine in German?
For an adjective to describe a feminine noun in the accusative case, the ending you must add to the adjective is -e – so klein > kleine.
How do adjectives agree in German?
The facts Determiners and adjectives in German agree with their head nouns in case, gender, and number. In addition, all adjectives have three paradigms of inflectional forms, which are traditionally called declensions: strong, weak, and mixed.
Do German adjectives modify pronouns?
Attribute adjectives precede nouns or pronouns and take special endings determined by the gender, number, case and article of the nouns they modify. Example: Das was ein schneller Hund. – That was a fast dog.
What is the V2 rule in German?
The V2 rule: The finite verb (i.e. the verb that is conjugated to match the subject) belongs in the second position. As in English, the most common word order in German is Subject - Verb - Direct Object (as in "Der Mann isst den Apfel," "The man eats the apple").
Is Hamburger masculine or feminine in German?
masculinehamburger [masculine], steak [masculine] haché, bifteck/steak haché…
What German words are feminine?
Most nouns ending in -e are feminine.
Why do German words have gender?
That's because in German, the gender of a noun is part of its identity. If you say or write a German word without the article that dictates gender, you won't be using the noun correctly.
Is German similar to English grammar?
This is why English and German share a great deal of vocabulary. All of this overlap in pronunciation and meaning means that despite German's complicated grammar, English and German are still considered 60% lexically similar.
Why do English and German have similar words?
1. Both are Germanic languages. As can be seen in this language family tree, English and German stem from the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family and therefore derive from the same syntactic and phonological system.
Do adjectives decline in German?
Only adjectives that come before nouns are declined in German grammar. These are called attributive adjectives. Adjectives that follow a verb (predicative and adverbial adjectives) don't change.
How do German adjective endings work?
A German adjective will change its ending depending on the following factors: Whether the gender of the noun that follows the adjective is masculine, feminine or neutral. Whether the noun is plural or singular. Whether the article is definite, indefinite or not used.
How are adjectives used in nouns in German?
Adjectives become nouns in German with the suffixes -heit, -keit, -igkeit and -tum. Adding a suffix is another way to let adjectives become nouns in German. Suffixes are endings that form nouns when you add them.
How do German prepositions work?
Some prepositions within the German language are two-way prepositions, which means they can be either accusative or dative. The simple rule to remember is: if you are referring to either movement or direction, you use the accusative case, whereas if you are referring to location or position, you use the dative.
Do adjectives decline in German?
Only adjectives that come before nouns are declined in German grammar. These are called attributive adjectives. Adjectives that follow a verb (predicative and adverbial adjectives) don't change.
Adjective inflection
German adjectives take different sets of endings in different circumstances. Essentially, the adjectives must provide case, gender and number information if the articles do not. This is among the more confusing aspects of German grammar for those learning the language.
Adjective comparison
The basic form of the adjective is the positive form: the adjective stem with the appropriate ending.
External links
For a list of words relating to German adjectives, see the German adjectives category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
What are the endings of an adjective?
These are the endings the adjective receives when the noun it describes comes with a definite article. These are “der”, “die”, or “das”.
How to make an adjective comparative in German?
Like in English, most regular German adjectives are made comparative by adding the suffix “-er”. “Als” in the example is “than”. When adding the -er, if the vowel in the adjective is an a, o, or u, you give it an umlaut (unless it is “au”). There are some exceptions for these rules, but the majority of adjectives can be made comparative in this way:
What is an indefinite article in German?
Indefinite articles in German are all the variations of “ein-” (ein, eine, eines, einer, …).
What are the two types of adjectives in German?
There are two types of descriptive adjectives in German: predicate and attribute.
What are ein words?
Adjectival possessive pronouns and “kein” (none) decline similarly to the article “ein”, they can be referred to as ein-words. The general declension pattern is as shown in the following table:
How are German superlatives formed?
German superlative adjectives are also somewhat similar to their English counterparts. Most superlatives are formed by adding the suffix -ste. Adjectives ending in d, t, or any s-sound (such as -s, -ss, -sch, -z, or -ß) must have an e inserted before the -ste.
What is the best app to learn German?
OptiLingo is the app that can get you to German fluency fast. It contains the list of the most common and useful German vocabulary. These words and phrases are the same ones German locals use. So, with these in your pocket, you can learn to speak exactly like them. Discover German adjectives naturally by downloading OptiLingo!
What is it called when an adjective is positioned in front of a noun?
Until now, we have only seen adjectives that are positioned in front of a noun, so they are called attributive adjectives . If a German adjective has its position after the noun of the sentence, it is called predicative adjective. Here is an example in order to illustrate the different variation of changes:
What is the ending of an adjective?
Rule: In the singular forms, adjectives have the ending “-e” and “-en”. In the plural, every adjective has the ending “-en”.
What are the two forms of German adjectives?
So, there are also two grammatical forms of German adjectives that should be mentioned: The German comparative and superlative, but also the specific adjective endings you have to apply. Well, let’s have a short look at each of these elements. Please, note that there are specific articles about each one of these elements that go into more detail. Just click on the button under each topic to get redirected.
What are the rules for inflection in German?
However, there are some rules for inflection that will help you to understand its principles. Strong inflection. First, If there is no article at all, you have to apply strong inflection.
What gender do German adjectives adapt to?
Let’s go into some details. When talking about German adjectives, they adapt to a mascline, feminine and neutral gender.
When to use mixed inflection?
Mixed inflection. Second, you have to use the mixed inflection when the adjective is preceded by an indefinite article (“ein-“, “kein-“) or a possessive determiner.
When a German adjective takes an ending that depends on the gender and case of the noun phrase, it is called?
When a German adjective takes an ending that depends on the gender and case of the noun phrase, it is called: Inflection.
What adjectives have 3 degrees?
Just like in English, German adjectives have 3 degrees: tall, taller, tallest. And, of course, there are German equivalents for the possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its, our and their.
Do possessive adjectives always take adjective endings?
You might be bummed to learn that possessive adjectives always take adjective endings — the bane of most German students’ existence!
Is German the same as English?
German has all the same adjective concepts that English does, yes … but how adjectives are used is very different, mainly because of tricky little adjective endings (i.e. declensions) you frequently have to use as part of the overarching German Case System.
Can you learn adjective endings?
The good news: you can learn adjective endings smarter, not harder. And I can teach you how!
Is there a smarter way to learn adjectives?
Thankfully, there is a smarter way to learn All Things Adjective. Ready, set, here we go!
German adjectives and their opposites
Here you have a overview of the most important German adjectives with English translations, accompanied by their opposite meanings.
Absolute Adjectives in German
Normally you can build the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives pretty easily. However, there are some German adjectives for which the comparative and superlative form doesn't exist. Here you have the most important ones
Exercises
Be careful to use the right form of declension for the adjectives, as well as the correct comparative form.
Exercises
Be careful to use the right form of declension for the adjectives, as well as the correct comparative form.
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German Adjectives with Irregular Stems
Yep. Like most grammar rules, this one has a couple of exceptions to consider.
Using the Correct Endings for German Adjectives: A Final Tip to Remember
That covers it! German adjective endings might look confusing, but there are better and worse ways to get them into your head.
How many genders are there in German?
There are 3 noun genders in German: masculine, feminine, and neuter. English does not have a comparable system, so noun gender is difficult for a lot of native English speakers learning German.
What is the German noun gender?
German noun gender is determined generally based on the gender of the person (e.g. der Mann) OR because its form (usually a suffix, e.g. -ung is feminine) OR because it belongs to a noun group associated with a particular gender (e.g. metals are usually neuter).
What are lumped together nouns?
Nouns can be lumped together according to: Noun Groups (specific topic groups associated with particular genders) e.g. all months of the year are masculine. Noun Forms (specific spelling patterns associated with particular genders) e.g. all nouns ending in -ung are feminine.
How many nouns does the average native speaker use?
BUT. The average native speaker (of any language) uses upwards of 20,000 — many of which are nouns. Memorizing the gender each and every noun would be mighty-hard to do.
What determines gender in compound nouns?
Usually, the final word in a compound noun determines the gender, as in:
What color to use for masculine, feminine, and neuter?
Pick three contrasting colors for the masculine, feminine, and neuter. I use red, blue, and green, respectively. In your dictionary, write new nouns in the color of the gender of that noun. For example, write ‘Hund’ (dog) in red, ‘Katze’ (cat) in blue, ‘Pferd’ (horse) in green.
What suffix is used to refer to male persons?
IF the suffixes -al, -an, -ar, -är, -at, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv-, -o, -on are used to refer to male persons, they take the masculine: der Student, der Militär (military man), der Kanadier (male Canadian).
